Marjorie Taylor Greene & Matt Gaetz Press Conference on ‘Justice’ for Jan. 6 Detainees Transcript

Marjorie Taylor Greene: (00:05)
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon as we released the report about the DC jail and our findings there. Unusually Cruel, that’s the title that we gave this report because this is the treatment that we found of the pretrial January 6th defendants being held right here in Washington, DC in the jail. Now, I will tell you, along with my colleagues here, which I’m very grateful to serve with them, we had been trying many times to get into the jail to take a tour. And we’re used to doing that as members of Congress, we’re used to touring facilities and it’s never been a problem. As a matter of fact, normally we’re welcome.

But we were denied entrance by Deputy Warden Landerkin multiple times. As a matter of fact, she’d locked us out before, and it was clear that there was a lot to hide. Right now, what we have happening in America is a two-tier justice system. Let’s all take a little trip down memory lane. Shall we? In the summer of 2020, there has been an estimated number somewhere around 7,750 to over 10,000 BLM demonstrations. According to the press, approximately 6% of them were violent. That’s 570 riots, if you do the math there. But here’s the deal, there was only one riot that took place here in Congress at the Capitol on January 6th. But what we have seen unfold has been unbelievable. It is a two-tier justice system.

We know that approximately 90% and more of Antifa BLM rioters have been released from jail. Their charges have been dropped. We know that in cities across America, there have been over two billion and damage, but here at the Capitol on January 6th, it’s approximately 1.5 million dollars. There’s a clear difference. But yet, we have a January 6th committee that Nancy Pelosi is leading, that is nothing but a political witch hunt on Republicans and Trump supporters all across America and anyone that was at the Capitol on January 6th.

What’s happening to these people being held in custody is wrong, it’s unconstitutional, it’s a violation of their rights, and it is an abuse that I call on every single member of Congress to start paying attention to. We need investigations. It’s outrageous. The American people are purely upset, disgusted, and cannot believe this is happening in our country. And I think all of us should be appalled. You see this jail in Washington, DC has been known. It’s had many reports of being a despicable place. As early as 1976, US District Court Judge William Bryant ruled the conditions inside the jail violated the eighth amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

In 2015, a report filed showed the jail was plagued by mold, vermin and water leaks. 2016, the jail had to move two injured inmates because of excessive heat. In November, 2021, the Marshall Service found the CDF to be inhospitable, but yet people are still being housed there. But the January 6th defendants are being treated differently on a whole nother level. They have been beaten by the guards, they are called white supremacists, they are denied religious services, haircuts, shaving, the ability to trim their fingernails. There’s more outrageous things happening there.

They’re denied time with their attorneys. They are denied the ability to even see their families and have their families visit there. They’re denied bail and being held there without bail. Many of these people have never been charged for a crime before, some of them are veterans, and the treatment is unbelievable. They are told they have to denounce President Trump. They are told that their views are the views of cult members, even though these are men that every single night at nine o’clock at night, they put their hand over their heart and sing the national anthem voluntarily.

Imagine a group of men being held in jail with no idea of when they’re going to go to court, no ability to bail out, no ability to see their family, being mistreated and abused worse than we treat terrorists at Gitmo, yet they have their hand over their heart every night at nine o’clock and sing the national anthem. That’s something I don’t think any of us can fathom while they’re being persecuted by the very government that has the American flag over our buildings. This is completely wrong.

Whether we agree, disagree, and I can tell you right now, I completely disagree and am very against the violence that happened on January 6th of the Capitol. We should all disagree with how these people are being treated. This is completely unacceptable, and as Americans, this should go beyond political boundaries and we should all come together and declare that this is wrong and call for it to stop. We never want to have those in power to be able to weld their power against people. They politically disagree with, especially in a time where we saw political riots all over the country and the people that committed those riots, not only most of them have been let off of their charges, but many of them were never mistreated like this.

I also want to explain something to you all. The Democrat platform, Act Blue, raised money for BLM, a lot of money. And BLM brought in millions and millions of dollars, but it was BLM violence and riots that were out of control. Many of these were peaceful demonstrations, but the riots that got out of control, those were assaults and violence on private property and private citizens. But yet, here we see everything, day in and day out in the news, it’s all about the Capitol riot. Congress only cares about itself. It clearly demonstrates to the American people it does not care about your business that got burned down, it doesn’t care about the job you lost. Congress doesn’t care about your city or community that was devastated by violence.

They don’t care about you, taxpayers, that have to pay to fix and mend, and they don’t care about the person that assaulted you, looted your store, or hurt you in this violence. They don’t care about any of that. They only care about themself, and they’re willing to use the Department of Justice, the FBI, the prisons, the jails, the guards, and any means possible to make sure that you never mess with them again. This is wrong. It’s unusually cruel. Now, I’d like to hand over this time to Congressman Gohmert. Congressman Gohmert was the other only member of Congress that was able to tour the jail with me that day because I was only given a little over 15 minutes notice in time to get there that I was going to be allowed to get in. At this time, I’d like for you to hear from Congressman Gohmert. Thank you.

Congressman Gohmert: (07:37)
Thank you, Marjorie. Thank you for your work, your efforts. There’s no better contrast between what happened in the summer of 2020 and what happened January 6th than the issue of bail. We hear for many people that participated in destroying federal building, police buildings, looting, than that they had no bail. So they were immediately allowed to be released. And yet, we’ve got people in the DC jail who had no bail, meaning they can’t get out. Now, on the state side, having been a felony judge, you had to have done something incredibly extreme to have bail so high that you could not make it, especially a no-bail situation. It’s just so extremely rare. But to have that kind of dichotomy here in the nation’s Capitol is pretty outrageous.

We know for those that are still taught any type of civics or government. You know that under our system, you are innocent until proven guilty, and the law and the constant institution have made very clear you’re not to punish anyone who’s in pretrial confinement. Pretrial confinement is not a place for punishment that can only come after conviction. And yet, here what we’ve seen in the DC jail amounts to a great deal of punishment. And to be clear, it’s not just the inmates that have suffered. As Marjorie and I toured the DC jail, some of the conditions were so astounding, I asked more than one guard, “Have you ever worked in a facility that had these kind of problems?” And quietly, they would say, “Never, no.”

It is outrageous now. There’s some that say, “Oh, it’s just because you’ve not been in jails or prison. You don’t know this is what it’s like.” No, those people that said that have witnessed what’s been going on in the DC jail. First, we have heard repeatedly since January 6th, this was an armed insurrection. And as I asked Merrick Garland, and I’ve asked others, “Is there in anybody been charged with insurrection?” And the answer is actually, “No, no one has been charged with insurrection.” In fact, if they were going to charge someone with insurrection, it’s beginning to sound more and more like those would be agents for the federal government that were there stirring things up, trying to get people to engage in violence. And as we heard this weekend, apparently a guy that was giving out-

We heard this weekend, apparently a guy that was giving out what were later used or called dangerous weapons may well himself have been working for the federal government, for the FBI, as he was handing out what they now charge were deadly weapons. So we’ve got a lot more investigating to do. The condition of solitary confinement has been so often struck down as inappropriate, and yet the DC jail has gotten away with it for such things as, “How dare you demand to talk to your lawyer in person, because now we will have to put you in solitary confinement, we’ll call it quarantine, for two weeks.”

It’s bad enough what they’re suffering from, but to discourage the ability to talk to your attorney. And what we saw as we go in the building, they got a great facility there. The Plexiglas, the phone’s on either side, you could see your attorney and it wouldn’t require anything after the visit other than wiping down the phone and the area where they were. And then yet they have used this idea, “Oh, if you’s going to talk to your attorney, we’re going to have to lock you up in solitary for 14 days.”

This is the kind of punishment that they have had meted out to them and it really has to stop. And we know the US Marshal, when they finally had had enough, we didn’t know that they were going, we didn’t know immediately after they went. But they had gotten concerns about the facility. They go in, they do a… Well, they’re taken into the area where the other prisoners were held, not the January 6th, and that gave them time to scrub off mold and try to clean up the area where the January 6th inmates were. And they did that. They had enough time to get some of the nastiest parts cleaned up so that the US Marshal held that the cleaner side of the jail was not adequate and those 400 people needed to be shipped out to incarceration in Pennsylvania.

And then by the time they get over to where the January 6th folks were, it was cleaner and they let that go. Then after that, before we went over for an inspection for a tour, they had done some painting and allowing them two hours outside their solitary confinement. One of the older gentlemen there, he’s alleged to have had a gun. And I know the Attorney General Garland was either being dishonest or he let us know that he’s incompetent when I asked him, was anybody inside the Capitol found to have had a gun? And he knew the answer. I knew the answer. And yet he said, “In fact, well I’m not sure where it was, but I know there was a gun found.”

Well, and that’s one of the reason they’re keeping this elderly gentleman in jail. You look at his hand and it’s obviously dark, looks like it’s going toward gray or black. That’s normally leading toward amputation when it gets that bad, but they haven’t given him proper medical care. Another inmate had his finger going just sideways at the last joint. He said it was broken by one of the guards and they won’t allow him to get medical care for that. They’re just all kinds of things there. The refusal to allow them to have hair cuts or shave, they’re creating people that look like the Unabomber.

And I know from my experience, if a jail facility will not allow an inmate to prepare for court so that he’s not brought in looking like a criminal, then that jail facility is going to be sanctioned by the judge that in whose court they’re brought. None of those things are happening. We’ve got one judge, Judge Lamberth, that has started to take action, but it’s not nearly enough. We need all of the videos that anybody has, but it’s the federal government. I don’t understand why our Speaker is trying to hide evidence while they run around looking for anything that might help them make Republicans look bad.

But we did get a clue from finding this tweet by the deputy or deputy warden. Deputy Warden Landerkin, two years ago in response to this tweet, had this to say. What she thinks should be done with people who support Trump. She said it two years ago and she’s been carrying out what she said ever since these people were admitted to jail. These people need to be relieved of their duties. She’s the one that when the four of us went up there to try to do a tour of the jail, we were lured outside and then she runs around back in and locked the door to the main lobby where people come in.

So there are people that are in charge that should not be. The inmates are being mistreated. And as somebody that’s been a prosecutor, a felony judge, and a member of the crime subcommittee ever since I’ve been here, I’ve toured can’t tell you how many jails and prisons, and it’s just hard for me to believe federal judges are allowing this to go on right here. It is a bad omen for the country that this is happening. And at this time I would like to yield to my friend from Florida, Congressman Gaetz.

Congressman Gaetz: (17:38)
Well I’m sure glad Nancy Pelosi kicked Marjorie Taylor Greene off her committees because it has given her the opportunity to prepare this report, which constitutes the most rigorous oversight work Republicans have done in the 117th Congress. Lord help them when Dr. Gosar is able to join Congresswoman Greene’s efforts with even more of his time. How many and who’s next? That’s what we’re wondering. It’s been 47 days since Attorney General Garland came to the House Judiciary Committee and misled our Committee regarding the targeting of parents as domestic terrorists for attending school board meetings and having their voice heard. Because who’s next? Is it going to be the parents who find themselves in the conditions that we see from the January 6th detainees?

It’s the January 6th detainees who are denied basic access to medical care and constitutional rights today. But tomorrow it could be the school board parents. The day after that, the rest of us, all of you. It has been 174 days since my colleagues and I sent a letter to FBI Director Wray, asking basic questions about the FBI’s involvement in January 6th. Americans should not be languishing in hideous, unconstitutional conditions, waiting for basic answers like this, waiting for basic answers regarding evidence, waiting for access to counsel.

His report must be a guidepost for ongoing Republican oversight effort in the Congress, because we are going to take power after this next election. And when we do, it’s not going to be the days of Paul Ryan and [inaudible 00:19:33] and no real oversight and no real subpoenas. It’s going to be the days of Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Dr. Gosar and myself doing everything to get the answers to these questions. So Congresswoman Greene and Mr. Gohmert’s work here have been absolutely critical. Judge Gohmert’s legal analysis as a jurist is woven throughout this work product and incredibly helpful. And we are going to get the answers to these questions because this should not be happening in the United States of America. I yield to Dr. Gosar.

Dr. Gosar: (20:04)
I thank my friend from Florida. It’s been nearly a year has passed since the treatment of political prisoners held in detention facilities in Washington, DC in relation to the events on January 6th, and it is appalling. The physical conditions described by my friends of these inmates can only be described as inhumane, lacking access to their earnings, to evidence, families, and even proper nutrition. These inmates are suffering disproportionately for long periods of isolation from the outside world. Many inmates continue to describe harrowing stories of being held in confinement for 19 to 20 hours a day, and only being allowed outside for a mere two days a week.

Dr. Gosar: (20:46)
They are being denied the right to attend chapel or religious service. They aren’t even allowed communion. Many have described having to burn their hair by utilizing harsh chemicals to even trim. Others have no access to toilets. And many share horrible stories of lacking adequate medical treatment. Those have been shared by my colleagues. These are not hardened thugs, murderers, or gang members with long histories of crimes. These are not unruly or dangerous, violent criminals. These are dads, brothers, veterans, teachers. All political prisoners who continue to be persecuted endure the pain of unjust suffering.

Dr. Gosar: (21:24)
I have repeatedly called for all individuals arrested for illegal acts on January 6th to be treated fairly. They are deserving of equal justice under the law. They certainly deserve to be treated fairly and equally to other rioters arrested at other events that took place across this country in 2020. My question is this, Mr. Biden, Attorney General Garland, why are you so interested in ruining the lives of these folks instead of equal justice? Why won’t you publicly release the hours and hours of video surveillance taken on January 6th? What are you afraid of? What are you hiding? The heart of this country is equal treatment, especially by the courts.

Dr. Gosar: (22:03)
The heart of this country is equal treatment especially by the courts. The public demands and the defendants deserve equal justice under the law. What is being described by these political prisoners is nothing short of human rights violation. The silence from the ACLU and Amnesty International is deafening. Maybe we ought to look once again at the MDAA for the indefinite detention of American citizens to make sure it’s fully removed this time and this time finally. We cannot let these injustices go unnoticed and we’ll continue to fight. I will yield back for Ms. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

I would just like to ask all of you as members of the press to please read this report and share it with America. You have such a wonderful gift, the freedom of press, and Americans need to know. Whatever your political bias is, I ask you to please overlook it, that’s what journalists are supposed to do, and share this information, because I think it’s our duty in this time to share the truth. Just as I’ve put in here about the jail and Congressman Gohmert put in this report about the jail, share it and please help people understand what’s happening. And let’s all work together to take a responsibility to not allow this to happen anymore in our country.

We’ve got to do a better job and I really want all of us to be part of it. As members of Congress, we’re calling on our colleagues to step up and we have to be this to an end. We need a good justice system, not one that persecutes people. And as members of the press, I ask you to tell the truth and report it. It’s your responsibility to do so. And now, we’ll open the floor for questions. Yes.

Speaker 1: (24:00)
Congresswoman Greene, thank you for taking my question. Something that you mentioned during this press conference was the Black Lives Matter movement, and something that the proponents of Black Lives Matter talk about often is the criminal justice system, issues of mass incarceration, and so forth. And so I’m wondering, to what extent have your experiences touring this D.C. jail and seeing what conditions are like inside prisons, to what extent has that made you reflect on the criminal justice system writ large in this country and the potential for reform that people who are opposite you on the political spectrum often call for?

Well, looking in the jail, I reported we put the full tour in there, so there’s a lot of detail about every single part of the jail. Now, here’s what I can say about criminal justice reform, I do not think it’s good for anyone in prison to have to read Nation of Islam newspapers and that be one of the only publications they have, or information or curriculum that informs them because of the color of their skin this is why they’re being treated this way. I don’t think that is good to rehabilitate anyone. I think, in prisons and jail, we should rehabilitate people and that has to do with job skills, education, and building character so that when they leave there, they’re able to have a really good second chance. And those are the things I believe in and I would like to work on.

As far as the difference in the jail, though, it’s very clear. The January 6th defendants, they were not allowed to participate in any of the continuing education curriculums that we were shown that other inmates and other pre-trial defendants are allowed to participate in. The January 6th defendants are not allowed to participate in job training like the other inmates and defendants are allowed to participate in. The January 6th defendants are not allowed to participate in mock trials that there was a third year law school student there helping other inmates learn how to handle the courtroom and what to do. None of those things were offered for the January 6th defendants. They were isolated in a separate wing of the jail where they are abused, where they are ridiculed, where they are mocked because of their political beliefs and because of January 6th and because of the color of their skin.

So there is a two-tier justice system and these are the things that need to end. I believe in criminal justice reform, but I believe it should be reform that’s fair completely across political lines and skin color. And I can tell you what we saw in the D.C. jail, none of that exists. Yes, ma’am.

Speaker 2: (26:43)
So Democrats are poised to use January 6th throughout the Midterms on their messaging point. Is this an issue that you think Republicans can mobilize around next year as well?

I think that every Republican voter and I think many American Independents and Democrats that I’ve spoken to have asked me questions. They care about January 6th because they see the clear hypocrisy. You see, here’s the problem with a lot of political consultants and people running for office, they forget that people aren’t stupid. As a matter of fact, American people are really smart and they’re able to see when they’re being lied to such as when there’s big bias in the press. They’re able to see on a campaign ad on the television that, “Oh yeah, you want to show me the riot at the Capitol over and over again? Well, I remember the riots that went on and on in 2020,” and they can drive down the road in their city and still see the burnt down car dealerships or stores and remember all the looting that took place and the police officers that were attacked. So I don’t think this is about campaigns. I think this is about real events and what happened to the American people here in our country. Yes, sir.

Speaker 3: (27:54)
I have one question for you and one question for Rep. Gohmert after. The D. C. Circuit already rules that the most January 6th defendant should released, but those who actually assaulted, police officers, broke through windows, doors, and barricades and those who aided, conspired with, planned, or coordinated such actions are in a different category of dangerousness than those who cheered on the violence, entered the Capitol after others cleared the way. Most defendants who are facing charges from January 6th have been released. Why are you choosing to single out these defendants who multiple courts have already found are in a different category of dangerousness as people who should be released and who are being treated unfairly? You say they shouldn’t be detained at all, but the judges have found differently. Isn’t your beef with them?

I think there’s a big political bias playing in the courts here in Washington, D.C., especially with the public defenders. The January 6th defendants that I spoke to and asked questions to in the jail said that if they have a public defender, they said their public defenders hate them and they’re being represented because they’re poor and they can’t afford to pay a lawyer. And they’re being represented by public defenders that call them White supremacists, tell them they have to denounce President Trump, tell them they have to denounce their political views, want them to watch videos and read books that basically is critical race theory training in order for them to have this public defender represent them. You see, that’s the political bias in the court. Excuse me, let me go further. I’m not involved in anyone’s cases here and I’m not defending any of the actions that happened at the Capitol, nor will I, because, as I said before, I didn’t like it and I don’t agree with it. I objected to Electoral College votes but I wasn’t a part of the riot and was shocked when it happened.

But what I will tell you is the treatment of these people is absolutely wrong. And I spoke to people in the jail there that were not charged with violent crimes, that walked through the Capitol. So when you see people being held indefinitely and they’ve been held in solitary confinement 22, 23 hours a day, being held in a prison cell where their bathroom, their toilet doesn’t work and they have to hold it for more than 20 hours in order for them to wait to be able to use a toilet when they’re let out, when they’re being force fed gluten food and they have celiac disease. And so the food that they eat makes them sick every single day to the point where they will go days without eating in order to just feel better because they are not given better food, I think we can clearly see that there is serious abuse happening here, and we can go beyond the silly dilly political games. I think we need to break it down to the facts. And I’ll hand it over to Congressman Gohmert.

And let me address that too. With regard to the treatment of the inmates, I think it’s very clear to Marjorie and me that what the courts have gotten is not accurate, and it will not be until some federal judge forces Speaker Pelosi and the Capitol police to release every hour of video that we will have an accurate picture about who did what. Because they haven’t gotten it so far. And we know that from some of the lectures that some of the judges have provided. Now, look, I was known as a law and order judge and chief justice and I believe in punishing people for their wrongdoing, and there was wrongdoing on that day. But the further along we go, the more we find out federal government involvement may have actually brought about people carrying what they now call deadly weapons.

And we now see [Epps 00:32:15] and John Sullivan, who has been released long since, out there trying to stir people up and getting them provoked. We need to get to the bottom of, whose conduct was more egregious? And if it was people within our own Justice Department that were creating this situation or helping create it or luring people that had no original idea of going as far as things went, then those people need to be punished too. And let me say this too, because we’ve been accused of, “Oh, you’re out to help the White.” I didn’t know what skin color everybody in the D.C. jail had until I got there. But other inmates would tell me that-

… until I got there, but other inmates were telling me the most verbally abused person in there happens to be Black, that he has caught more flack than any of the White defendants, and it shouldn’t matter about skin color. To those that are doing the treating, it is really outrageous. People need to be fired, they need to be in some other area of employment rather than being in charge of people that they can abuse. Yes, ma’am?

Speaker 4: (33:37)
I didn’t get to ask you my question.

Speaker 5: (33:38)
I know, but let everybody ask one before you go back to your second one.

What’s your question?

Speaker 4: (33:39)
Sir, you’ve made some pretty serious accusations. Are you saying that you have reason to believe that on surveillance video captured in this building on January 6th, there is evidence that federal agents staged or provoked the events of that day. Are you saying that is what will be found on that video?

And that question indicates either a dishonesty on your part or a lack of integrity, because there is film out there publicly that shows Epps, Sullivan, other people who are participating. There is video we are not being allowed to see. When I was visiting with the inmates, very few of them had been given discovery and it was lists of video. And they were saying, “Look, see this video, this is where it depicted this.”

And they skipped one, two, three segments, and different ones were pointing out that’s the segment where this was shown, this was shown and that’s what they’re cutting out. Some judge is going to have to get serious and release everything so that we can all make that determination. Because what we’ve seen so far is more and more comes out, race is important issues that cannot be resolved until we get all the film. And if you have not seen federal hand in some of this, then you’re not paying attention. Yes, ma’am?

Speaker 6: (35:14)
Congressman do we have a estimate right now of how many detainees are still in the DC jails right now?

The latest, isn’t in between 40 and 50?

It’s somewhere between 40 and 50. But I would like to talk about what I saw on video footage when I was in the jail. I was shown video of Rosanne Boyland dying. And I talked to the man who is a January 6th defendant and he’s the one that gave her CPR and I saw the video of that. And then I also saw the video of her being dragged down the hallway, her lifeless body and her shirt coming up and exposing her breast. That’s on the video. What happened to Rosanne and Boyland and her family deserves to know, that’s all on that video. That video should be released. There’s a lot of video that should be released. But I think if you want to write about what happened, somebody needs to demand that the video for Rosanne Boyland be released.

And these questions you’re raising used to be asked of people in government. People that had the video, that had the people that could verify, testify but even more than that, the video. Those are the questions that need to be asked of them. Why are you not allowing all the video to be shown? And it sounds a like to me that there’s some people that don’t have a problem with the way people are mistreated.

Speaker 7: (36:44)
I want to followup on something Congressman Gaetz said, you said if Republicans take back the house, “It won’t be the days of Paul Ryan and Trey Gowgy and no real oversight. It’s going to be the days of Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene.” Can you expound a little on what the days of Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene are going to like?

Yeah, we’re going to send subpoenas. We’re going to conduct real oversight. We’re going to show up in person and get answers. The notion that Republicans are going to take control of the house and we’re going to hold hands in the warm spring rain with the Democrats and legislate is ludicrous. We have to make promises to our voters to get answers to these question questions that we hear in our towns and in our communities. And when we get the power back, that ought to be our organizing principle and this document that Congresswoman Greene and Congressman Gohmert led in preparing ought to be a God post in that effort.

Speaker 7: (37:33)
Can I just followup with that real quick?

Yeah, sure.

Speaker 7: (37:37)
You guys have talked a lot about you envision retaliation for members of the January 6th committee for Republicans who have broken with the party, whether on impeachment, or …

At this rate, I don’t know if too many members of the January 6th committee are going to be back, but we’ll see.

Speaker 8: (37:52)
Congressman, if you do retake the house, would you want ex-President Trump to be the speaker?

I would.

Speaker 8: (38:00)
Have you talked to him about?

I have.

Speaker 8: (38:02)
And what did he say?

Oh, I keep my conversations with the former President between the two of us. Yes?

Speaker 9: (38:07)
Mr. Gaetz or Ms. Greene, what about the treatment of the Capitol police officers on that day? I mean, I was down here that day not too far from here. We saw police officers who had been bear sprayed in their eyes and were blinded by many of these January 6th defendants that you are now drawing attention to. So I don’t remember you holding a press conference about the treatment or the unusually cruel treatment of Capital police officers.

You may not remember a particular press conference about police officers, but I have made many public statements and cried out against all violence against police officers- …

Speaker 9: (38:42)
About the police officers who defended this building?

Yes, specifically capital police here, Congressman Gohmert sponsored a bill that I co-sponsored along with him wanting to give medals of honor, wanted to award them for how they were treated during the January 6th, right? But also extend it to police officers all across the country. I’m not going to separate them. I am very supportive of our police, and I have consistently denounced the violence here, so do not go down that route. That would be completely unwarranted. I think another thing that we need to talk about is the January 6th committee, they’re unconstitutional bounds that they are completely crossing, wanting to get records from telecommunications companies, bank records of people.

So they can continue to politically do this warfare that they’re waging on Republicans, but yet, they’re unwilling to go to the DC jail. They’re unwilling to release video tapes. They’re unwilling to talk about the real things that happened that day. They just want to extend it to keep on attacking Trump, keep on attacking President Trump because they’re so filled with Trump derangement syndrome and they need something to cover up the fact that Joe Biden’s administration and the failures of the Democrats are destroying our country right now.

So I think the best thing that the January 6th committee should do is they should take a tour of the DC jail and they should go look at the conditions that are happening there. And then, talk to more police officers, talk to witnesses that were there that day and release all the video, because if we release all the video, then there’s no speculation or guessing. It’s all there for everyone to see and that’s how this nation can heal when we are able to look at the truth.

And let me respond to that as well. I’ve made clear that when it comes to anyone who did violence on a capital police or any law enforcement here, that I would have no problem sentencing them, and I would sentence them to incarceration. That is serious. But when somebody is in pretrial confinement, it’s very important we don’t confuse punishment that comes after conviction with pretrial confinement, where the jailers get to make their own pronouncements of guilt and then carry out punishment.

If we are going to have an orderly society, you betcha, I believe in punishing people who assault members of law enforcement. I have, I will, I’ve sent people to prison for long periods of time. But if we confuse the pretrial detention with post-trial punishment, then our system is hopelessly lost, and that’s why we’re raising candidates. We are here because we want to salvage the system.

Yes, ma’am?

Speaker 10: (41:40)
[inaudible 00:41:40] touch with any of these defendants prior to January 6th or anyone who’s currently being detained?

I’ve been in touch with no defendants.

No, I haven’t either. Didn’t know any of them.

And I’ve gotten letters from different ones.

Thank you all so much.

Speaker 10: (41:55)
You were in touch with him prior to the interaction?

No, no. Let me be clear, when I said I’d gotten letters. That was after detention, I’m not aware of any contact with anybody that participated in January 6th and committed offenses. But it does raise the issue of an offense. I didn’t know in June 2016 that it was a felony crime, but for many of the January 6th inmates, they’ve been charged with obstructing an official session of Congress for four to six hours. And if we’re going to have a fair system, then most of the Democratic party in the house that was there in 2016 need to be charged with the same thing. They obstructed an official session in Congress for 26 hours. Thank you, y’all so much.

Speaker 11: (42:49)
Congressman, one more question.

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